Well after many years away from sailing I'm ready to get back into it. I have sailed different boats over the years the biggest being a old girlfriends fathers boat. It was down on Texas coast and it was a big ol girl. It was if I'm correct 47 footer. We used to spend weeks on it sailing up and down coast. I used to hit Benbrook lake here in Ft Worth with a friend on his H16. I always enjoyed being on the hobie. So saying all of that I'm in the market for a H16. Ive found a few boats around but I'm wondering if I should pick something up as kinda a fixer upper, or something that's ready to go. Just thinking if I could come out better finding something that needs some work and just spend the money.

Anyway I've been ready on the forum and looks like theres lots of good info here!

Seeing that summer is upon us, I recommend getting one that's ready to sail. You'll get slowed down when you find new problems on a fixer-upper and wish you were out on the water instead. Just look at your budget and see what's available. Fewer problems = more time sailing. You can still do improvements on a boat ready to sail; Standing rigging, trapeze lines, new harnesses, new tramp, tuning the rudders, patching dings in the hull, attaching a mast float, That alone can be improved on a used & sail-ready boat and will cost over $500, even buying after-market cheap stuff.

Bah650 - I am new to forum also. There is some great information here to help you find a Hobie and also how to maintain them. I grew up sailing/racing on a friends 30' Yamaha in the Puget Sound. Missed sailing so much I jumped at 2 Hobie 16s that were at an auction a couple years ago. Cobbled one out of the two that I could sail and been loving it ever since and am now hooked and looking to upgrade

Even with my limited and long ago sailing experience I have found my Hobie 16 to be perfect for single handed or double crew sailing.

Good luck finding a Hobie 16 and check out the forum for some good pointers on what to look for when shopping.

I would agree with tarheel.This close to summer I would get something water ready and then make changes as you dial in the boat.This will be second season with my boat (& sailing for that matter) and I already want to drop more $ in my boat than I paid for it!But those are things that I just want done but don't stop me from launching whenever I want. Save the projects for the winter.I took my time and searched and waited and haggled until I found a good boat for what I wanted to pay.The hardest part is waiting.